Design must demonstrate measurable business value to survive cost-cutting pressures. Designers should avoid merely following orders or becoming obstructive critics and instead influence executives to recognize flawed proposals themselves. Feedback workflows need consolidation to reduce friction between clients and UX teams. AI companions require guardrails to protect people and maximize real-world value while prioritizing usefulness and support. AI coding tools have improved implementation speed but can create an illusion of progress that overlooks user research, validation, and market adaptation. Successful product outcomes depend on human-centered discovery, iterative testing, and translating design work into clear business impact.
In an uncertain economy, many organizations are looking to reduce costs. If you're seen as nothing but a cost with little benefit, your team may be on the chopping block. So if executive whims are throwing you around, don't just learn to follow orders or question them to the point of being seen as a roadblock. Learn to get executives to realize that what they're proposing is a bad idea on their own.
We must build AI for people; not to be a person → AI companions are a completely new category, and we urgently need to start talking about the guardrails we put in place to protect people and ensure this amazing technology can do its job of delivering immense value to the world. I'm fixated on building the most useful and supportive AI companion imaginable.
Vibe coding and the illusion of progress → While artificial intelligence has revolutionized how we write code, it hasn't touched the fundamental human work of discovering genuine user needs, validating solutions through real-world testing, and adapting products based on market feedback. This distinction matters now more than ever, as AI-powered development tools create a dangerous illusion of progress that threatens the very foundation of successful product building.
Collection
[
|
...
]